Retro Film Review: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Last works in the filmographies of grand directors are seldom among their best, and A Prairie Home Companion, a 2006 film directed by Robert Altman, isn’t an exception to this rule. It isn’t among the best works in the career of that celebrated director, but it is one of those that caught the most public attention.
This attention was largely due to Altman’s casting choices, particularly young actress and rising star Lindsay Lohan, whose personal life was fueling tabloid headlines at the time. Upon hearing the news of Altman’s death, she reacted with one of the most quoted BlackBerry messages in history. While tabloid editors revelled in the opportunity to mock her literacy or speculate about substance abuse issues, Lohan nevertheless managed to bring the attention of younger generations to the work of one of the most revered directors of the 20th century.
A Prairie Home Companion is a rather typical Altman film, characterised by the mixing of different genres and the rejection of a clear conventional plot, which is replaced by a series of vignettes featuring an ensemble cast playing characters with rather bizarre interactions. The plot revolves around A Prairie Home Companion, a popular radio variety show that aired from a theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1974 to 2016, hosted by humourist Garrison Keillor, who stars in the film playing himself.
The script, however, strays from real life and shows the effect of the show’s fictional cancellation, a decision made by the radio station’s new owners. This allows the plot to explore how producers, writers, musicians, and technical staff react to the news about the inevitable end. Similar to Nashville, Altman’s legendary film set in a somewhat similar milieu, the vignettes are filled with black humour and interspersed with interesting country songs.
Although it is not a film that will become a classic, A Prairie Home Companion presents Altman in a good light. The director, known for his quality work with actors, distinguished himself thanks to a diverse and talented cast, which includes relative amateurs like Garrison Keillor, Altman's old collaborator Lily Tomlin, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, and Lindsay Lohan, who was trying, and for the most part succeeding, to prove that she could play more demanding and prestigious roles than in her early Disney days.
On the other hand, not all jokes will resonate with the audience, and many may be incomprehensible, especially those related to the radio show itself, about which few know outside the USA. Nevertheless, A Prairie Home Companion deserves to be watched. Not only will you gain insight into the work of a great master, but in its interesting combination of black humour, nostalgia, and country music, you will find more than enough entertainment. There are definitely worse ways for a great director to conclude a long career.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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